Same as many others, I am a very happy user of the Palm Pico Single and the Palm Single. They work great in all weathers, and I can operate the single lever version even with frozen fingers. I do not think that a straight key would be any better for me in cold situations; quite to the contrary, I guess my code would be much worse.
My two cents:
I use the Pico Paddle for most of my activations, although I prefer the Palm Paddle.
I do not like capacitive touch paddles, and have never found one that is sufficiently accurate.
If you are looking for something a bit special, then you might consider this:
They are about half the price of a Begali. I got to play with one in Friedrichshafen and the feel is very precise. As to how and where you would mount it, well thatās a thread waiting to happenā¦
73 de OE6FEG
Matt
Regarding the Touch Paddle with which I have had great successā¦ others I have tried were as others have reported, but this one has been perfect. It has adjustable response with a pot on each lever. I have used it in the dry sou9thwestern climate, and I have used it in a rain storm, in the snow, in the cold and in the heat. It has never failed. It is on a tiny board the size of a postage stamp and came from CWTOUCHKEYERS.COM I have built three of them and they all work flawlessly. NONE of the problems others are reporting for other keyers have been a problem with this one.
Also built one of his larger versions, mounted it on a slab of soapstone. It, too, operates flawlessly.
I am thunderstruck to learn that the maker of these wonderful keys, WA1JOS, became a silent key in August.
I use both the Chinese paddle mentioned and the DCP. The DCP needs a base if you didnāt buy one with the kit. I havenāt installed it on a base and have to hold the paddle with one hand while sending with the other.
The chinese key, which is priced right, works fine but cannot be adjusted as finely as other paddles I own. I accept some rough sending results at times. Chasers need to figure out what I meant sometimes and if it is a critical bit of info, I repeat it anyway.
A good feature of the chinese paddle is that it has a stereo 3.5mm or 1/8" socket and you can use any stereo cable with it to connect to your rig. It observes the paddle wiring standard of tip=dot, ring=dash, sleeve = common.
OK, I guess thereās a first time for everything.
Yeah, ā¬145 is almost 2 Palm Paddles (which are what we use at the CW Schule Graz). But compared to a ā¬248 Begali Adventure it seems almost reasonable. Like the Scheunemann, itās a not so ridiculously priced high end key. Of course, thereās the additional weight as wellā¦
An article in next monthās (December) Funk Amateur magazine is how to print a micro paddle (I presume 3D printer but it doesnāt say). So that might be of interest to some on this thread.
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Sumner Eagerman, aka. CWTOUCHKEYER.COM, on August 14, 2017.
I regret that we are not accepting orders at this time. In the short-term, we are working to refund all pending transactions until a satisfactory resolution is found. Future direction of CWTOUCHKEYER.COM has not yet been determined. Please check back with this site for updates
I love my Porta Paddle (PP).
Iāll go against the grain a little, as unlike many others, I really dislike my Palm Pico (pp).
Iāve tried to love it, but itās soulless and without feeling
I admit the PP does need maintenance to keep the pivots clean, but nothing that canāt be achieved in a few minutes fettling with a screwdriver and some WD40.
This is really only an issue if it gets wet, and I try and do all my activations āin doorsā so a rare problem.
After using several keys in my SOTA outputs. (Palm, single and iambic)
I noticed, that a homemade key that I had at home
It turned out to be the best.
Sounds really good !!!
73 de Dani EA5FV.
I mount my PP on the inside of the plastic box all my kit goes in.
The lid is therefore multi functional and provides a firm easily held base for the key.